1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a system including a control device mounted on a vehicle, and a portable device for remotely operating the control device.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, an electronic key system of performing communication between a vehicle control device such as an ECU (Electronic Control Unit) and a BCM (Body Control Module) mounted on an automobile and a portable wireless transmitter (hereinafter described as “portable device”) owned by the driver, and locking and unlocking a ride-on/off door etc. or starting or stopping the engine when the communication is established has been put to practical use.
However, in this type of electronic key system, the portable device is difficult to find when the portable device is lost. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-163633 discloses an electronic key system of informing the position of the portable device to the periphery by transferring a search signal for searching the portable device from the vehicle control device to the portable device, and activating an informing unit arranged in the portable device when the portable device is lost.
When the informing unit arranged in the portable device is a light emitting unit such as an LED (Light Emitting Diode), the light emitting unit activates (blinks or lights on) based on the search signal, and thus the portable device can be easily found when looking for the lost portable device at night or in dark places.